Coach believes Canadian women on right track ahead of Rugby World Cup in England

It's a big year for the Canadian women's rugby team, with the World Cup set to kick off in August in England.

Canada coach Kevin Rouet hopes it will be a historic one.

The Canadian women climbed to second in the world rankings behind England in May after recording their first-ever victory over reigning World Cup champion New Zealand with a 22-19 decision to win the Pacific Four Series.

Canada slipped back to third in mid-July with the Black Ferns retaking No. 2 but Rouet's side regained second spot in September after a 46-24 win over No. 4 France at the WXV tournament in Vancouver.

Rouet believes his team is on the right track to the World Cup.

"I feel like we are more prepared the year before the World Cup than last time," he said in an interview.

Rouet led Canada to a fourth-place finish at the pandemic-delayed World Cup in November 2022. He had been elevated to head coach in March 2022 after four years as an assistant coach.

The Canada women have gone 10-5-0 since that World Cup with four of the losses to England and one to New Zealand.

Canada's best showing at the tournament was in 2014 when it lost 21-9 to England in the final.

The depth of the squad has grown under Rouet, as shown by the team's success in the absence of talismanic captain Sophie de Goede, a former World Player of the Year nominee who is recovering from knee surgery. The 25-year-old backrower from Victoria is targeting her return at the end of May so will likely not be part of the Pacific Four.

Rouet will take 32 players to the World Cup.

"It's going to be a tough selection at the end. But it's good to see the depth is way better," said the French-born coach. "We, as coaches, have more confidence in the wider squad than we had at the last World Cup